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Published: January 10th 2010
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Sorry for the massive jump in blogs again! Since leaving Kangaroo Island I visited Ayers rock and Alice Springs and then had a lovely Christmas in Adelaide with my Uncle, Jo and little Amy, as well as the rest of the Fletcher family! Adam, Dave and I then flew to Sydney where we watched the fireworks, had a lovely 7 course dinner cruise around the harbour with some very drunk parents! and sunbathed on Bondi beach.
On 6th January Dave and I left Sydney Central YHA - one of the best hostels we have stayed in so far due to nightly films in their mini cinema and $5 meals and caught a very bumpy 2 and a half hour flight to New Zealand. We then caught the bus into Christchurch, driven by a very friendly driver willing to give every passenger personal directions to their accommodation and checked into Base Hostel. This hostel wasn't quite as modern as the YHA but did have an excellent location right by the cathedral and also a great bar below called Saints and Sinners which offered $5 drinks over the weekend and some very tasty cocktails!
On our second day in Christchurch, Dave
and I visited the Botanical gardens in the morning and spent a very enjoyable hour wandering through the park especially enjoying the divinely smelling rose garden. We then wandered back into town and while Dave went and got a long overdue hair cut, I braved the buses and visited the nearby Westfield shopping centre for a spot of retail therapy!
Christchurch seems a very quaint city with punting on the river, a city tram and a lovely pedestrian area around by the cathedral although the sunny weather probably showed it in its best light!
The next morning was the day Dave had been looking forward to as we went to pick up our rental car! After much deliberation over how much we should pay for insurance we were finally handed the keys to our very own Nissan Pulsar and off we set! With my limited map reading skills we managed to leave Christchurch, probably not using the most direct route and headed off towards Akoroa.
On the way we made a quick stop at Barry's Bay Cheese factory for some free tastings and a picnic lunch and then carried onto Onuku Farm hostel - our base for the
evening. After settling in we made an attempt at the ridge walk but after puffing and panting at the steep climb we gave in, just high enough to take some photos of the stunning area surrounding the farm! The hostel is very cute with outdoor (but hot) showers, an outdoor kitchen area constructed with discarded parts of a car and a stargazer hut which I would have loved to stay in if we had booked further in advance. For dinner we popped back into Akoroa and bought some supplies in the supermarket, as well as some amazing fudge from a little shop called Pot Pourri and came back to cook in the outside kitchen.
The next day I was up bright and early as I had signed up to go swimming with dolphins! After the slightly disappointing episode on Kangaroo Island I did not set my hopes too high, especially once I saw the grey weather, but ended up having an amazing morning! The tour offered by the hostel, aims to find Hector dolphins, the smallest breed of dolphin in the world and only offers 6 places on each of the boat trips it does. Luckily for me, I
was joined by a lovely family of 4 from Sweden and after being kitted out in our wetsuits, we jumped in the back of a pick up truck and headed down to the harbour.
After a slow start with only a couple of sightings, our captain took the boat further out of the harbour in the hope of spotting more, only to be disappointed again. As we had travelled this far he decided to show us the caves around the outside of the harbour when all off a sudden he said “Ooh there's something big out there! Lets go and have a look!” We all turned our attention to the front of the boat and amazingly saw what looked like a whale, jumping out of the ocean! Excited voices filled the boat and after closer inspection the captain exclaimed with almost a tearful voice “I've waited 60 years to see this!” We had managed to stumble along a pod of Orcas, making their way north along the island and they were quite happy to come soaring up to the boat and playfully swim along side it! Due to their massive size and unknown behaviour we all stayed inside the
boat but we were more than happy to watch these amazing creatures in their natural environment. I also saw some penguins which was lovely as previously I had only seen them in a zoo, and a seal sleeping on the rocks.
On the way back to land we managed a quick swim with the hector dolphins and although I saw them swim very close to 2 of the other people, I'm still not sure I can really say I've swum with dolphins!
We have now left Akoroa and are staying at Lake Tekapo. Dave did very well with the 4 hour drive especially in the torrential rain we have had to suffer and it is so lovely to have a car and be able to stop where and when we want. Unfortunately due to late booking we have managed to get beds in the hostel which has a bus load of backpackers in too, so the facilities are a bit cramped! Hopefully they will leave us tomorrow and the weather will improve!
Thanks everyone for all the previous comments, keep them coming!
Love Katie
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Alice
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Hey Katie, It all sounds so amazing, I am very very jealous!!!! Make the most of the beautiful weather, I think we might have snow until August here. Looking forward to seeing you soon, what date are you back??? xxxxx